Shana: When Tara showed me the blurb for an opposites-attract rom-com set in a sex toy store, I jumped on the chance to read it together. I’m glad I did, because Satisfaction Guaranteed is my first official Squee of 2021. Tara: Isn’t it the freaking cutest? This book made me laugh out loud and gave me so many happy sighs. But let’s start by telling everyone what it’s about. When Cade’s aunt Ruth dies, she … Continue reading Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters →
I seem to be on a bit of a roll reading romances between noble dukes and heroines who are impoverished commoners. The Duke Undone took this trope to some clever (and unexpectedly gothic) places. I enjoyed it quite a bit until the last quarter of the book, when the tone shifted substantially. Lucy Coover is a talented and aspiring artist, but as a woman, she is forbidden access to life drawing classes. So when she … Continue reading The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell →
The first book in the Debutante Diaries series felt underwhelming and, at times, aggravating. This Regency engagement-of-convenience story did have elements that could have made it stand out: the heroine proposes to the hero, the heroine is a talented artist, and the hero has a warm, close relationship to his grandmother and values her intelligence and wisdom. Unfortunately all of that is lost to some uneven plotting, a lack of internal conflict, and a dash … Continue reading First Earl I See Tonight by Anna Bennett →
NB: It’s Flashback Friday! Given Sarah’s recent love of Labyrinth Lost, it seemed fitting to resurrect another YA, urban fantasy with a diverse heroine that she happened to enjoy. This review was originally published July 15, 2015. Shadowshaper is a freaking incredible novel. It’s a bit outside my reading tastes because it’s urban fantasy and it’s for teen readers, a vein of YA I haven’t read much of. But it’s also got a huge portion of my catnip because it includes … Continue reading Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older →
I grabbed this with fast grabby hands when Mandy at Smexxybooks mentioned that Elle Pierson was also Lucy Parker and, well, y’all know how I feel about her book Act Like It. Sophy is at an gallery opening with her art school class when an attempted theft marked by a smoke bomb sets off Sophy’s severe asthma. Mick, one of the security consultants guarding the collection, rescues her, and then finds out she can provide detailed sketches of … Continue reading Artistic License by Elle Pierson →
